Afternoon headlines January 31, 2017

The Boulder Jewish Community Center was evacuated this morning after receiving a bomb threat at 9:30am. A staff member received an automated phone call of the threat.

Emergency responders called in a bomb dog, which began sweeping the area at 11:00am. Susan Rona, spokesperson for the Boulder JCC told the Daily Camera that the Boulder Center was one of many around the country that has been targeted.

“Over the last several weeks, several JCCs across the country have received similar bomb threats, and we consistently review our safety and security protocols, and we were prepared and we followed them, and safely evacuated.”

The threat comes as a wave across the country. Jewish Centers in Wisconsin, Utah, and New York State were also evacuated this morning due to similar threats.

Zakaria Hagig, a Libyan student at the Community College in Denver has filed a civil lawsuit against President Trump saying the recent travel ban violates his right to freedom of religion and due process under the Constitution.

Morgan Carroll, a former state legislator and one of Hagig’s attorneys, told the Denver Post that it is against federal law to discriminate against someone based on their race, religion, or nation of birth or residence. She says she hopes the court agrees that executive order illegal.

The lawsuit states that as Hagig is a U.S. resident who pays works and pays taxes in the country, and the federal government must show due cause before they are able to restrict his liberty to travel. The lawsuit also says that the executive order violates Hagig’s equal protection rights under the 5th and 14th amendments of the Constitution.

Hagig and his attorneys are asking for expedited arguments to address the issue as quickly as possible.

Meanwhile, hundreds of protesters are expected to march outside of Sen. Cory Gardner’s office in Fort Collins today to show support for Muslim and immigrant communities.

Students at Fairview High School in Boulder have started a campaign urging the Boulder Valley School District to stop using Wells Fargo for their banking. Wells Fargo is one of the 35 banks funding the Dakota Access Pipeline.

The students recently delivered 250 signatures collected from students and community members to the school board. Two board members have said divesting from the bank is worth looking into, but said it would be a complicated issue.

Local activists have also asked the City of Boulder to divest from JP Morgan Chase, another bank funding the pipeline. They will speak before city council this evening. Tomorrow morning there will be an event in downtown Boulder urging people to withdraw their money from Chase and Wells Fargo.